U.S. Imposes New Sanctions On Iran

January 17, 2016 15:24 GMT

RFE/RL

A military truck carrying a warhead and a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen during a parade in Tehran late last year. Washington says the new sanctions have been imposed as a result of Iran's ballistic missile program.

The United States has announced new sanctions on Iranian companies and individuals linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

The move comes a day after Washington and the EU lifted sanctions related to Tehran's nuclear program.

Sanctions were imposed against five Iranian nationals and a network of companies based in the United Arab Emirates and China, the U.S. Treasury Department announced in a statement.

UN experts said in a December report that Tehran’s firing of a medium-range ballistic missile in October violated sanctions that ban Iran from launches capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Adam J. Szubin, acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said that "Iran's ballistic missile program poses a significant threat to regional and global security, and it will continue to be subject to international sanctions."

The Reuters news agency reports that, according to officials familiar with the matter, U.S. President Barack Obama delayed the sanctions for more than two weeks during tense negotiations to free five American prisoners.

U.S. President Barack Obama has since praised the release of the five Americans who had been held in Iran and the full implementation of the historic nuclear deal with Tehran.

"This is a good day," Obama said in a statement from the White House on January 17.

Speaking about the new sanctions imposed on Iran, Obama said the United States would continue to enforce sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program.

"We will continue to enforce these sanctions vigorously," Obama said.

In remarks shortly before the U.S. announcement, Iranian President Hassan Rohani said that any new American sanctions would be "met by an appropriate response."

Earlier in the day Iranian President Hassan Rohani hailed the lifting of international sanctions on his country, saying a nuclear deal with world powers opened "new windows" for Tehran's engagement with the world.

Rohani told parliament on January 17 that the deal was also a "turning point" point for Iran's economy, adding that the energy-rich country needed to be less reliant on oil revenues.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced on January 17 that the United States and Iran had also settled a longstanding dispute over $400 million dating back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the end of diplomatic ties.

The U.S. will repay Iran a $400 million debt and $1.3 billion in interest.

The money was part of a trust fund that was once used by Iran to buy military equipment from the United States and is separate from the tens of billions of dollars in frozen foreign accounts that Iran can now access.

On January 16, the UN nuclear watchdog announced that Iran has kept its nuclear promises under the agreement reached in July, triggering the end of sanctions.

The announcement set off a rapid process of lifting international sanctions against Iran. The European Union said it has "lifted all economic and financial sanctions against Iran related to the nuclear program."